What has changed since ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ came out 20 years agoPublished: Apr 10, 2017 4:24Robert Kiyosaki, the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” has made headlines forhis bold and sometimes controversial opinions about the future of the stockmarket, real estate and how to get rich.

It’s been 20 years since the original “Rich Dad” book came out, and a lothas changed in personal finance since.

We’ll be live with Kiyosaki on April 11 at 11 a.m. to ask him questionsabout what lessons still hold up 20 years later. We’ll also chat about hisnew book, “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer.”

He’ll answer your questions in real time, on Facebook Live. Like MarketWatch’sFacebook page right here — and Facebook will send you a notification when we’relive with him.

Have a question you’d like to ask him about how to get rich in 2017? Let usknow your questions for Kiyosaki in the comments, or email them to me at***@marketwatch.com, and we’ll ask them during the live broadcast.

And if you join during the live Facebook broadcast on April 11, you canleave questions for him on Facebook we’ll ask as well.

Post by a425coupleWhat has changed since ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ came out 20 years agoPublished: Apr 10, 2017 4:24Robert Kiyosaki, the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” has made headlines forhis bold and sometimes controversial opinions about the future of thestock market, real estate and how to get rich.

Robert Kiyosaki has an unusual reading recommendation for would-beentrepreneurs -- one that even the most devoted fans of the “Rich Dad, PoorDad” author might not see coming.

It tells the story of a knight about to meet his death in battle. It’swritten by a Hollywood movie star. For Kiyosaki, it’s become a treasuredread.

“Believe it or not I read a lot of spiritual books. One of the best is‘Rules for a Knight’ by Ethan Hawke,” Kiyosaki said during a Januaryinterview, when asked if there were any books he would recommend forMarketWatch readers.

“It’s so well written, talks to your soul,” he said of the book. “All myfriends are entrepreneurs and they all get copies of it.”

“Rules for a Knight” takes the form of a letter written from a 15th centuryknight (and imagined ancestor of Hawke’s) to his children, on the eve of abattle. Fearing for his life, the knight outlines for his children the rulesfor being a knight that were passed down to him.

That may not sound like fertile material for learning the secret to successin the 21st century business world, but the knight’s rules do have an auraof entrepreneurial mantra about them. The rule for humility begins, “Neverannounce that you are a knight, simply behave as one,” while the rule forgratitude states, “For all that has been, a knight says, ‘Thank you.’ Forall that is to come, a knight says, ‘Yes!’ ”

“As a businessman, I do my best to operate only at the highest of spiritualvalues and do my best to do business with people who share those values,”Kiyosaki explained of his book selection.

As a young man in military academy, Kiyosaki says he was drilled on theconcepts of duty and honor. “The first word literally pounded into our headswas the word mission,” he said. “Later came words such as duty, honor,integrity, code and so on. I have come to realize those words are spiritualwords.”

Years later, while in business school, he says he learned about “money,markets and manipulation,” but never heard those “spiritual” words that wereso important to his early life in the military.

See also: ‘Rich Dad’s’ Kiyosaki hasn’t given up on his dismal marketprediction

He says his group of personal advisers, who counsel him and his wife ontheir investments, get together twice a year to study both financial andspiritual books.

“The Untethered Soul,” by Michael A. Singer, is Kiyosaki’s second readingsuggestion. The best-selling book bills itself as a way to “free yourselffrom limitations” and “discover inner peace and serenity.”

“It’s very, very, very good, about how to handle emotions,” Kiyosaki said.“I used to get a lot of heart attacks. I just let it go now.”

If you prefer your reading to be more firmly rooted in the worlds ofbusiness and finance, Kiyosaki suggested two books on economics inMarketWatch’s live interview with him in August, which you can read moreabout here.

The latest from Kiyosaki, who has published numerous personal-finance tomes,is “Why the Rich are Getting Richer.”

The author, who uses debt and taxes to build wealth, says he explains in thebook how best to do that. “But what makes this book different is that I gointo details of why I use debt and how I pay no taxes legally. It’s hard tomake it simple. It’s really advance finance made simple.”Related reading

Two books ‘Rich Dad’ author Robert Kiyosaki says you should read(besides his)‘Rich Dad’ author Robert Kiyosaki: If you’re investing for the longterm, ‘you’re crazy’

Post by a425coupleWhat has changed since ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ came out 20 years agoPublished: Apr 10, 2017 4:24Robert Kiyosaki, the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” has made headlines forhis bold and sometimes controversial opinions about the future of thestock market, real estate and how to get rich.

The pros and cons of forming an LLCPublished: Mar 23, 2017 5:10 p.m. ETWhat you need to know

LLCs provide some of the advantages of a partnership with the liabilityprotection of a corporation.

ByAndrewL. Wang

This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet.

The limited liability company was first offered as an option for structuringbusinesses 40 years ago in Wyoming. By the late 1990s, all states had lawsauthorizing the organizing of businesses under the hybrid structure. Today,LLCs are growing faster than any other business type, according to the IRS.What is an LLC?

An LLC is a business structure that combines the simplicity, flexibility andtax advantages of a partnership with the liability protection of acorporation. An LLC can have one or many “members,” the official term forits owners. Members can be individuals or other businesses, and there is nolimit to the number of members an LLC can have.

About 2.4 million U.S. businesses identified as LLCs in 2014, according tothe latest figures available from the IRS. Take a look at these advantagesand disadvantages to help you decide whether an LLC is the right structurefor your business.LLC: The pros

Choosing to structure your business as an LLC offers a number of advantages:

Limited liability: Members aren’t personally liable for actions of thecompany. This means that the members’ personal assets — homes, cars, bankaccounts, investments — are protected from creditors seeking to collect fromthe business. This protection remains in place so long as you run yourbusiness on the up-and-up and keep business and personal financialsseparate.

Pass-through federal taxation on profits: Unless it opts otherwise, an LLCis a pass-through entity, meaning its profits go directly to its memberswithout being taxed by the government on the company level. Instead, they’retaxed on members’ federal income tax returns. This makes filing taxes easierthan if your business were taxed on the corporate level. And if yourbusiness loses money, you and other members can shoulder the hit on yourreturns and lower your tax burdens.

Management flexibility: An LLC can opt to be managed by its members, whichallows all owners to share in the business’s day-to-day decision-making, orby managers, who can be either members or outsiders. This is helpful ifmembers aren’t experienced in running a business and want to hire people whoare. In many states, an LLC is member-managed by default unless explicitlystated otherwise in filings with the secretary of state or the equivalentagency.

Easy startup and upkeep: Initial paperwork and fees for an LLC arerelatively light, though there is wide variation in what states charge infees and taxes. For example, Arizona’s filing fee for articles oforganization is $50, while the fee in Illinois is $500. These variationsaside, the process is simple enough for owners to handle without specialexpertise, though it’s a good idea to consult a lawyer or an accountant forhelp. Ongoing requirements usually come on an annual basis.LLC: The cons

Before registering your business as an LLC, consider these possibledrawbacks:

Limited liability has limits: In a court proceeding, a judge can rule thatyour LLC structure doesn’t protect your personal assets. The action iscalled “piercing the corporate veil,” and you can be at risk for it if, forexample, you don’t clearly separate business transactions from personal, orif you’ve been shown to have run the business fraudulently in ways thatresulted in losses for others.

Self-employment tax: By default, the IRS considers LLCs the same aspartnerships for tax purposes, unless members opt to be taxed as acorporation. If your LLC is taxed as a partnership, the government considersmembers who work for the business to be self-employed. This means thosemembers are personally responsible for paying Social Security and Medicaretaxes, which are collectively known as self-employment tax and based on thebusiness’s total net earnings.

On the other hand, if your LLC files forms with the IRS to be taxed as an Scorporation, you and other owners who work for the company pay SocialSecurity and Medicare taxes only on actual compensation, not the whole ofthe company’s pretax profits.

Consequence of member turnover: In many states, if a member leaves thecompany, goes bankrupt or dies, the LLC must be dissolved and the remainingmembers are responsible for all remaining legal and financial obligationsnecessary to terminate the business. These members can still do business, ofcourse; they’ll just have to start a whole new LLC from scratch.How to start your LLC

Choose a name: Register a unique name in the state where you plan to dobusiness. To make sure someone else doesn’t have your business name, do athorough search of online directories, county clerks’ offices and thesecretary of state’s website in your state — and any others in which youplan to do business. For a fee, many states let applicants reserve an LLCname for a set period before filing articles of organization.

Choose a registered agent: The registered agent is the person you designateto receive all official correspondence for the LLC. It’s crucial that younail down who this person will be before filing articles of organization,because states generally require you to list a registered agent’s name andaddress on the form. Though people within the company are usually allowed toserve in this role, states maintain lists of third-party companies thatperform registered-agent services.

File articles of organization: This is the step that essentially brings yourLLC into existence. States request basic pieces of information about yourbusiness, which, if you’ve thought through your business plan and structure,should not be hard to provide. You’ll be asked to supply details like name,principal place of business and management type.

Get an employer identification number: The IRS requires any business thathas employees or operates as a corporation or partnership to have an EIN, anine-digit number assigned to businesses for tax purposes. The rule appliesto LLCs because, as creations of state laws, they’re classified for federaltax purposes as either a corporation or a partnership.) Applying for an EINis easy, fast and free.

Draw up an operating agreement: Your operating agreement should includespecific information about your management structure, including an ownershipbreakdown, member voting rights, powers and duties of members and managers,and how profits and losses are distributed. Depending on the state, you canhave either a written or oral agreement. Many states don’t require one, butthey’re a useful thing to have.

Establish a business checking account: It’s generally good housekeeping tokeep business and personal affairs separate. Having a separate checkingaccount draws a bright line between the two. This is critical if you want tomitigate any potential risk to your personal assets if a lawsuit calls intoquestion your business practices.Learn how to start your business

NerdWallet has rounded up some of our best information on starting abusiness, including structuring and naming your company, creating a solidplan and much more. We’ll help you do your homework and get started on theright foot. Read our Starting a Business Guide.